Our new edition!

By the way, I forgot to introduce the new edition to my family! Introducing Low-Fat, the wonder hound! He's a one year old basset hound, adopted through the Basset Hound Rescue Society. His hobbies include sleeping, laying by the fire, chewing rubber toys, sleeping, howling, eating treats, and sleeping. Isn't he houndly!

Tofu Scramble!

Tofu, glorious tofu! It can be used in so many ways. Tofu is one of those things that seems like a mystery if you haven't tried it or don't know how to cook it well. I recently brought a tofu stiry fry to work for lunch. My co-worker hesitantly asked if she could try a bite, explaining that her only experience of the stuff was raw and plain. Of course, she didn't like it that time, but loved the tofu from the stir-fry! No wonder she didn't like it raw, it doesn't have much flavor to begin with. Add it to a dish, and you've got a nutritious and meaty meal. One of my new favorite ways to cook tofu is the tofu scramble. It really resembles scrambled eggs, so if you're missin' that, then this dish is for you. Even if you never liked eggs, this dish is so hearty and scrum-diddly-umptious you won't notice the resemblance.

I found this recipe in Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book "The Vegan Table" (p. 28). Check out her website, Compassionate Cooks, and podcast, Vegetarian Food For Thought. If you don't have one of her cookbooks, she has several good recipes for free on her website and also sells recipe packets.

Anyways, the key to a good scramble is the tofu. Pick a tofu that's extra firm, as it holds up best when sauteeing or stir-frying. It also has the most chewy texture. Once you take it out of the package, make sure to rinse it and drain the water (do this by placing it between 2 sheets of paper towels between 2 plates for 15 minutes). Its a good idea to drain any tofu you use because if you don't, the water will drain out into your dish. Tofu also absorbs the flavor of whatever you cook it in, and can take on more flavors of your dish when some of the water is gone.

Once you've drained the tofu, crumble it into pieces. This gives it an egg-like resemblance. You can basically use whatever veggies and spices you want, but make sure to add a little turmeric, as this gives it the yellow color. Once you cook the veggies and add the spices, throw in the tofu and scramble for a few minutes. Everything should mix well and be heated evenly.

You can serve it with tempeh bacon, which she also has a recipe for that looks amazing. Basically, you cut tempeh into thin slices length wise. You then fry it for a few minutes on each side, until its golden brown and crispy. Add some liquid smoke and maple syrup, and wa la, bacon!

Making Friends with Veggies gets a makeover

To celebrate my one year anniversary into this journey I decided to change things up. Check out my new design and tell me what you think. Its still a work in process, but I'm slowly improving things around here. Not only do I have a new look, but you'll notice my new domain too: www.makingfriendswithveggies.com. Tell your friends!

If you're new to my blog, I'm glad you've decided to check it out! I originally named it "Making Friends With Veggies: The World's Most Unhealthy Vegetarian". First of all, when I decided to explore vegetarianism, I realized I hated vegetables! Its true, I ate as little veggies as possible. The idea of becoming vegetarian, much less vegan was laughable. I decided that before committing to the scary prospect of (gasp!) no longer eating meat, I needed to explore what I could eat. I needed to get to know my vegetables and like them. Chard and kale still freak me out, but I'm learning to love them.

Secondly, I realized that you can be a vegetarian and still be really unhealthy. It wasn't enough to replace meat with vegetable based, highly processed foods like soy hot dogs and tofu stir fry take out, not to mention the junk I still continued to consume (sour patch kids may be vegan, but they're definitely NOT healthy!). And when I became vegetarian, I still ate a lot of cheese and eggs, maybe even more than I used to consume. And that is definitely not healthy either!

I've been vegan for 8 months now, and this blog is really about my journey to health. Expect an update of my "about me" page; now that I've gained some perspective on food and health my thinking and experiences have a different lens. I also plan to highlight specific vegetables. This is more for me than anyone else, but at least I can put all the information in one place!

So there you have it. I'm glad you're here!